Will Memorial Day event be right brew for Conroe tourism?

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, January 27, 2012

A new party is brewing in Conroe. The city just needs to find the right spot.

Whether the city overpaid for the Brew B Que only will be known after the Memorial Day weekend event. However, if this city is going to make any leaps and bounds in generating tourism dollars, it must make a name for itself with bigger events - not just the occasional local ones - and draw more out-of-towners for nightly stays.

It’s a benefit The Woodlands enjoys with The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, drawing hundreds of thousands from the surrounding area to concerts who stay in local hotels, generating hotel occupancy tax dollars and bringing business to local bars, restaurants and stores, creating even more money through sales tax revenue for The Woodlands Township.

Without a big-ticket venue, Conroe must be creative and take some gambles when securing events.

The Brew B Que plans to celebrate its fourth party with a two-day event in Conroe. It started in Austin in 2009, drawing roughly 2,700 visitors, then moved to Buda, just south of the state capital, for 2010 and 2011. Buda, with a population of fewer than 10,000 residents, drew roughly 5,700 people to the festival its first year, which was over the July 4 holiday.

The 2011 event, held over Labor Day weekend, enticed a crowd of around 2,400.

But the event has potential, as pointed out by city leaders in Buda who spoke with The Courier Friday.

Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams said the city was pleased with the event. While Parks Director Jack Jones said the event’s organizers did a great job, including with advertising, marketing, set-up and crowd control.

Security also was not a problem for the Buda Brew B Que, billed as a family event. Event organizers worked with the city police department to hire off-duty officers and other personnel. An official with the Buda Police Department said officers had no problems with the crowd and recalled only one arrest during the two years it was there.

One thing Buda didn’t have to do was fork over any money, according to its city officials.

Conroe has committed $30,000 from its hotel occupancy tax money to help market the event, and therefore has a bigger stake in its success.

One key factor remaining in that equation is where to hold the event - which includes live Texas music performances, a barbecue cook-off, home beer brewing demonstrations, Chihuahua races, a lumberjack show, children’s carnival and crafts.

With shows scheduled for the Owen and Crighton theaters that weekend, downtown Conroe and Heritage Park - the first option and a crowd pleaser for the Cajun Catfish Festival in the fall - is not in the cards.

The city may rule out the Montgomery County fairgrounds - because it is too far from the heart of Conroe and its businesses and hotels. After all, this is an event where city leaders want to put heads on city hotel beds, butts on barstools and hefty appetites in restaurants.

Conroe city officials have a couple of places in mind but have not released those possibilities.

According to the Buda parks director, location may have been one factor in last year’s attendance drop-off and the event searching for another city. It was held on roughly 3-5 acres at a city park that was dry, dusty, windy and hot in early September, creating problems for attendees.

While this may not be the Super Bowl, Conroe ain’t no dust bowl either, just yet, Mother Nature willing.

And if city leaders continue to research potential big-draw events, they could find that perfect fit for an annual blowout that brings in the crowds - and coins.

“If Conroe could host the Super Bowl in Tiger stadium, I’d take it,” Mayor Webb Melder said. “You’re looking for that one right event to bring in the crowds.